Cartoonists from 40 countries have submitted their works to the international cartoon competition in Tehran named after Aylan, the 3-year-old Syrian kid whose death shocked the world.
On September 2, the body of Aylan Kurdi was washed up on a Turkish beach near the port city of Bodrum, located some 400 km west of the city of Antalya.
Aylan was one of the 12 Syrian refugees, including eight children, who drowned that day after their boat sank en route to the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
The image showing his body lying face-down on the Turkish beach riveted millions across the world, and drew attention to the plight of refugees fleeing conflicts, oppression and terrorism.
‘International Aylan Cartoon & Illustration Exhibition’ has been organized by Iran’s Association of Islamic Revolution and Sacred Defense for Visual Arts to draw attention to the plight of refugees who have fled atrocities committed by the Islamic State, an extremist militant group that has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan over the past two years, IQNA reported.
The competition’s secretariat in Tehran has received works by foreign cartoonists from 40 countries including Brazil, Russia, China, Cuba, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Turkey and the US, said managing director of the association, Mohamad Habibi.
“A total of 200 artists are competing with 370 works, including 200 cartoons and 170 illustrations,” Habibi said noting that the event is welcomed by artists across the globe although there is no cash prize for the selected works. “It shows that artists are never silent in defense of the innocent.”
Iran with 75, Turkey and Brazil each with 20 and China with 10 artists top the list of participants. The exhibition will conclude on Friday (October 9) and winners will be announced next week.
The best works in each category will receive a statuette and a commendation plaque and will be displayed on the website of the festival, published in a book and showcased at a public exhibition in future.
